Welcome to Hell (1981) 8.7/10
    Welcome to Hell is, perhaps more than any album I can think of, often judged a priori because of its role in the development of thrash and black metal. However, my role here is to objectively look at the album out of context, and actually decide whether or not the record is good. And fuck yeh, it is! You'll often read shit on the internet about how untalented Venom are, "...and if it wasn't for its crucial role..." blah blah blah - but the truth is, Welcome to Hell is both a great NWOBHM album and also an excellent punk record. The riffs are played with such utter confidence and arrogance, the songs so bristling with energy and enthusiasm that its difficult not to be won over by Cronos, Mantas and Abaddon. Like vintage Motorhead, Venom explode on the stereo, noisely bash out every song with manic frenzy, then leave the stage without giving a fuck what we think. And that's exactly what punk and metal should be about. But more than that, the riffs here are good! Perhaps most adequately described as a combination of Motorhead's dirty punk and labelmates Tygers of Pang Tan's powerful guitar chords and rhythms, Venom are essentially very similar to the other NWOBHM bands, except lyrically more daring and musically less inhibited. Saxon are so inhibited and boring that I cannot sit through one of their records - Welcome to Hell drove me to buying Black Metal the next day!
    The assumption in 1981 was that Venom had no melody; I beg to differ. 'Live Like An Angel' has a catchy chorus, as does 'Poison' and 'Angel Dust'. Most of the songs have very user-friendly riffs, catchy and accessible, while many of the solos are actually entertaining and verging on accomplished. In particular, check out the break on 'One Thousand Days in Sodom' - pure NWOBHM goodness that no metalhead could dismiss.
    Quite frankly, I believe that when Welcome to Hell was released, it was one of the most exciting records ever made, and the energy hasn't faded with time - after all, Satan is eternal!

(a quick note on the reissue: basically, 11 more tracks are included from the time period, which adequately illustrate the developmental phases of the album, from earlier demos to outtakes. I find it particularly worthwhile for the inclusion of 'Bloodlust' and 'In Domine Satanas' which are both classic Venom songs and are virtually available nowhere else. That said, the material here is all very similar sounding to the album, so if you've had enough of the garage sound, the extra tracks won't do much for you)